The guest list for the tribute show, scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre, has swelled to 475, with more than four dozen others on standby to attend.

An Imagination Stage aide told HOH that Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, won’t be physically present but sent a memoriam missive to be printed in the program, while fellow Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz will have his say via video greeting. Inouye’s wife, Irene, and son, Ken, are expected to attend.

The pop culture phenomenon, which marries an age-old Japanese story with the frenetic styling of fanboy-wooing ’toons, originated at the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, a program Inouye supported. He’d also agreed to be the honorary patron of the show before his death earlier this winter.